Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Page 5
Arts & Life
Kip Mooney
Arts & Life Editor ntd.artslife@gmail.com
Economy forces offices to limit holiday party plans (A P) — At O’Keefe Communications, employees will celebrate the holidays this year as they did last, with a potluck in the office rather than dinner at a nice restaurant. “We have a lot of people in our office that like to cook and swap recipes and it worked out nicely,” said Catie O’Keefe, president of the Washingtonbased media and event production company. “It was a good change of pace. I think it was so well received that we’ll do it again this year.” Last year, at the height of the recession, many companies scaled back or canceled holiday parties a ltogether. Others donated to charities that money that would have been spent on parties. This yea r, even w it h sig ns t he economy may be improving, many businesses still are reluctant to throw big holiday blowouts, especially after rounds of layoffs and pay freezes. “Companies’ budgets are still ver y tight,” said John Challenger, CEO of outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “They’re not convinced their business isn’t going to turn south again.” Trac y Bloom Schwa r t z,
owner of Creative Parties in Bethesda, Md., remains optim ist ic. Cor porate holiday parties, she said, are “coming back,” although maybe not as strongly as in the past. Overall spending on holiday parties is being cut by about 20 percent across the board, she said. “S ome t i me s t he f a v or is a litt le less,” she sa id. “Sometimes they spend less money in every sector. If they had a four-course meal, now they’re going to have a threecourse meal.” W hen finances are tight, some say it’s actually more important than ever to throw a holiday party. “Now is the time to build community,” said Greg Casella, president of t he Nat iona l A s s o c i a t ion of C at er i n g Executives. The holiday party sends a message, said Casella, who has a catering business in Silicon Valley. “It kind of says, ‘We’re OK, we’re still going to be around.’” Sevent y percent of t he association’s members who responded to a survey said they don’t expect to see a rebound in corporate holiday parties this year. And more than 86 percent said their corporate
clients who are hosting holiday events are doing it on a smaller scale than last year. PricewaterhouseCoopers is forgoing holiday parties and setting aside more than $1.5 million instead for its offices to help local charities, according to Sha nnon Schuyler, t he compa ny’s U.S. cor porate responsibility leader. Some of the offices use the money to fund youth events, carnivals or holiday parties for children. Others make donations to food kitchens or shelters. Employees also are volunteering at the events. “Our people want to engage with the people they’re helping,” Schuyler said. Challenger says he expects other companies to take the sa me route : aba ndon i ng parties in favor of charitable giving or volunteer work. “I think there’s a sense that a lot of people have it worse than we do,” he said. For those who decide to go ahead with the party, there are ways to cut costs. The open bar should be the first to go, Casella said. Compa n ies m ig ht g ive employees coupons for one or two drinks, or have them buy the drinks outright. Limiting
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL TERCHA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT
Many offices have been forced to cut back on their holiday parties because of the economy. While some offices took their employees out to eat at expensive restaurants, this year they will hold potluck dinners. the selection to beer, wine and soft drinks also can save money. Another cost-saving move is holding t he celebration du r ing t he week, instead of on a Friday or Saturday night, or doing a lunch or hors d’oeuvres instead of dinner. Renting outside venues usually is more expensive on weekends. Some companies, like
O’Keefe, moved the party to their own offices. Casella said many businesses have been waiting to see which way the economy goes before planning parties. Booking last minute isn’t a problem, he said, because there probably are many places still available. “People are more cautious,” Casella said. “They’re not
spending the money until they have the money to spend.” At O’Keefe Communications, the 15-member staff traditionally gave O’Keefe and her husband, Kevin, hats of one type or another. Last year, the couple turned the tables, giving each staff member a hat. “We always try to do some unique way of recognizing people,” O’Keefe said.
Lennon’s hit song to raise money for U.N. commission UNITED NAT IONS (A P) — John Lennon’s widow and two sons are donating the proceeds from the 40th anniversary release of the hit “Give Peace a Chance” to a U.N. peacebuilding fund used to help countries emerging from conflict, the fund announced Tuesday. Chile’s U.N. A mbassador Heraldo Munoz, who chairs t h e U. N. P e a c e b u i l d i n g Commission which oversees the fund, praised Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and Julian Lennon for their decision to celebrate “the uniting spirit” of the “universal anthem” by contributing to global efforts to help countries through the difficult move from war to peace. Starting Tuesday, iTunes exclusively offers the single’s special anniversary single for download purchase, with new proceeds benefiting the U.N. Peacebuilding Fund through Dec. 31, he said. “I am thrilled that so many in t he music business are readily supporting ‘Give Peace a Chance’ on its 40th anniversary,” Ono said in a statement. “It is indeed a time when we are all getting more aware of the necessity of doing something to achieve world peace, no matter how small.” “Thank you, thank you thank you. I feel deeply that we are all one, regardless of where we stand,” she said. Lennon and Ono wrote the song during their 1969 honeymoon bed-in protest against the Vietnam War and over the years it has become the world’s
most popular peace anthem. Munoz told a news conference at U.N. headquarters t hat Lennon’s w idow a nd sons, partnering with EMI Music and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, were making the first private donation to the U.N. Peacebui lding Fund,
which has raised $315 million in voluntary donations from U.N. member states since it was established four years ago. The Peacebuilding Com m ission is c u r rent ly helping four count ries — Sierra Leone, Burundi, Central
PHOTO COURTESY OF ABACA PRESS / MCT
Yoko Ono and her son Sean Lennon pose at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The family has released John Lennon’s song “Give Peace a Chance” to iTunes.
Thursday November 5, 2009 11 a.m. Discovery Park near the Green Mountain Coffee Shop 2 p.m. 1 O’Clock Lounge University Union
African Republic and GuineaBissau — emerge from conflict, he said, and the Peacebuilding Fund has helped to prevent 14 other countries from relapsing into violence including Nepal, Haiti, Kenya and Ivory Coast, he said. Mu noz ca l led Ono t he
“fundamental moving force” in allowing the gift to the U.N. “Beyond words, she is proving in a concrete action that she is committed — and she has been for such a long time — to the cause of world peace,” he said. Munoz urged companies,
individuals and philanthropists to “imitate this geneorus contribution by Yoko Ono and her partners and help the Peacebuilding Commission and ... the people in the postconf lict countries that will be the ultimate beneficiaries of a gift.”